First-half goals by Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech knocked the stuffing out of second-tier Middlesbrough, who had eliminated Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in previous rounds.
Arguably the hottest of hot seats in soccer is vacant yet again after Chelsea's ruthless Russian owner Roman Abramovich removed Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday.
Under-fire Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas only needs the support of owner Roman Abramovich to carry out his duties and does not require the full backing of his squad, the Portuguese said on Thursday.
Andre Villas-Boas believes there is no imminent danger of him being sacked even though Chelsea have already lost six games this season, a run of poor form that is almost unparalleled since billionaire owner Roman Abramovich took over in 2003.
Didier Drogba scored Chelsea's goal and their winning Champions League penalty against Bayern Munich on Saturday and then solemnly appeared to say his farewells.
Andre Villas-Boas could emulate Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal by remaining Chelsea's manager for 10 or 15 years, club chairman Bruce Buck said on Thursday.
Andre Villas-Boas is unsure if he has the backing of Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich and wonders if he will be sacked in the same way as predecessor Carlo Ancelotti was last May, the Portuguese coach said on Monday.
Chelsea sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti on Sunday after a season in which they failed to win a trophy but just a year after the Italian led them to the double.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was sacked to "protect the interests of the club" and owner Roman Abramovich had to act because of a "palpable discord between manager and players", technical director Michael Emenalo said.
Nicolas Anelka's arrival at Chelsea in January last year hardly had the fans buzzing amid all the big-money signings since Russian billionaire owner Roman Abramovich transformed the fortunes of the west London club.
Lampard must re-energise the team to even hold onto Chelsea's tag as best of the rest behind Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Liverpool.
A Roman Abramovich-sponsored soccer tournament involving leading Russian and Ukrainian clubs has been cancelled, organisers said on Monday. The Channel One Cup, which had been held in Israel in January for the past three years, was called off by Russian billionaire Abramovich's National Academy Fund (NAF) after Zenit St Petersburg became the latest top Russian team to pull out.
Tuesday's 2-0 League Cup quarter-final defeat by Liverpool came hot on the heels of a Premier League loss to the same club and a 5-3 defeat by Arsenal to make fans twitchy at a ground that had been a fortress for much of the Roman Abramovich era.
New Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is well-trained in dealing with the whims of multi-millionaire footballers and club owners despite often coming across as shy and reserved. The 49-year-old won two Champions Leagues and a Serie A title during his eights years at AC Milan and is as qualified as anyone to take the reins at Stamford Bridge.
Russia coach Guus Hiddink said he was prepared to manage Chelsea for the rest of the season after receiving permission to combine the two jobs.
And he only reveals this two days after his chief executive leaves for Stamford Bridge. Fancy that.
On Wednesday, Swiss business tycoon Hansjoerg Wyss said he was one of three people who had been approached by Abramovich to buy the club.
If a report in a British newspaper is to be believed, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich held talks with the Brazilian's brother last weekend to discuss the transfer.
Jose Mourinho thinks Chelsea's quest to win four trophies this season could play into Liverpool's hands.
Chelsea will take on Valencia in a Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday amid fresh speculation that coach Jose Mourinho is in his final season at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have nine 'untouchable' players but striker Andriy Shevchenko is not one of them, according to manager Jose Mourinho.
The 'Iron Man of India' has emerged a contender to buy English Premiership football club Birmingham City after making an initial inquiry, The Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday.
Success has been a long time coming and this title could just be the start of the Chelsea era.
Manchester City's new owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan is the richest man in British football with Chelsea's Roman Abramovich down to third place in FourFourTwo magazine's annual Rich List published on Wednesday.
Russia's richest man and Chelsea owner billionaire Roman Abramovich confirmed his 16-year marriage to wife Irina is over.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he would stay with the EPL champions if he has enough support from the club.
Chelsea have been within touching distance but a place in Europe's showpiece club final has proved agonisingly elusive since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich bought the club.
Leeds chairman Ken Bates reported Chelsea to the FA on August 2 over alleged illegal approaches to players.
The Chelsea manager said the Russian tycoon wanted to sack him from the moment he took control.
The German captain joined the English champions from Bayern Munich on a free transfer.
Jose Mourinho expects another mixed reception in Porto when he takes Chelsea for their Champions League tie.
Chelsea recorded a pre-tax loss of 80.2 million pounds (157 US $ approximtaely) in the 2005/06 financial year
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has denied that the club's success is purely down to the financial muscle of owner Roman Abramovich.
British newspapers have speculated that the Argentine international would move to Inter Milan at a much reduced fee.
The rumblings of discontent from Righteous Europe over Qatar's admittedly appalling human rights record can only be viewed as deeply disingenuous and phoney, argues Kanika Datta.
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